As the whistle blew, Corey took control, immediately pushing the tempo. Corey slipped past his defender with a quick crossover and darted down the lane, making a quick pass to James, who drained a mid-range shot from the elbow.
"Let's go, Corey!" Coach White shouted from the sideline, clapping in approval.
The varsity players reacted, watching as the JV bench unit tore up Bloomington's lineup. Lamar played feisty, applying pressure up top, forcing Bloomington's point guard into a rushed pass Nick intercepted cleanly.
Nick pivoted, spotting Corey on the break and quickly tossing the ball up the court. Corey took off, sprinting with all the speed he had, finishing with an easy layup.
With every basket, the JV bench rotation fed off the varsity team's energy in the stands. They were more aggressive, using cuts and quick rotations, leaving Bloomington North scrambling to keep up. On defense, Elliot and Nick held their own under the basket, forcing tough shots from Bloomington's big men.
After a timeout from Bloomington, Coach White clapped his hands and pulled the team together on the sideline. "Stay sharp! Don't let up. Look for the open lanes and take the smart shots. Make them chase us, alright?"
"Yes, Coach!" they replied, catching their breath but eager to jump back in.
On the bench, BJ, Xavier, Tyreek, Andre, and Malik watched intently, observing how their teammates kept the momentum alive. BJ cracked a smile watching his teammates proudly.
Back on the court, Lamar managed a clean drive, slicing through Bloomington's defense and dishing the ball to Elliot, who pulled off a hook shot in the paint, putting Gary West up by 16 points as the third quarter came to a close. The varsity players exchanged nods, clearly impressed as the JV bench continued to hold their own.
As the buzzer sounded for the third, Coach White gestured to BJ and the starting rotation, signaling for them to prepare to close out the game in the fourth.
With the final quarter underway, Coach White sent the starters back in to close out the game, now energized after sitting out a quarter and by the solid work of the bench players.
BJ took control of the ball, increasing the pace as they looked to end strong a few minutes into the quarter, BJ crossed over his defender and slipped a pass to Xavier, who drained a smooth jumper from the top of the key. The varsity guys in the stands cheered him on, with CJ Evans clapping and shouting, "Good Shot!"
On the next possession, BJ got a steal, breaking free down the court. As Bloomington North scrambled to catch him, he lobbed a high pass toward the rim. Marcus was already sprinting down the right wing, his eyes lighting up as he saw the pass coming. He took off from the block without missing a beat, rising high and barely completing the one-handed dunk
nevertheless the gym erupted as the student section went wild, rising to their feet with shouts a freshman dunking is impressive; Isaiah Marshall, a senior power forward yelled, "Hell yeah!
"Give that boy his props!" Amir Taylor shouted, laughing and clapping as the rest of the varsity guys joined in.
BJ jogged back with a grin Marcus was all smiles, feeding off the energy in the room and looking over at the varsity players, who were still on their feet, hyping up the JV squad like they were the ones in the game.
With their confidence peaking, Gary West continued to dominate. Tyreek nailed a three-pointer from the corner, putting them up by twenty with just a few minutes left. Malik and Andre dominated the paint, grabbing rebounds and protecting the rim to keep Bloomington North from making any comeback attempt.
The last two minutes played out with Gary West easily stopping them BJ put the final stamp on the game he called iso and started crossing up his opponent blowing right past him for the easy layup off the glass
As the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 66-40, sealing the win for Gary West. The varsity team came down from the bleachers, clapping and patting the JV players on the back, impressed with the way they'd dominated from start to finish.
Isaiah slapped BJ on the shoulder, grinning. "Good game yall boys." He said proudly
BJ gave a confident nod, a little smirk crossing his face. "You know it."
Amir laughed, adding, "Y'all keep that energy. We'll be watching!" After that, the varsity squad headed off to the locker room The JV team savored their hard-earned victory.
As the JV team made their way to the locker room, they had the satisfied looks of players who knew they'd fought hard and earned every point. After exchanging handshakes with Bloomington North, the guys settled down, and still got energy from the win. Coach White handed BJ the game sheet, filled with individual and team stats, as they took seats on the benches.
BJ skimmed the box score, looking at his numbers. "Alright, let's see…" he muttered under his breath, scanning the points, assists, and steals he'd racked up. 15 points 7 assists and 3 steals.
From across the hallway, BJ could hear his pops, Coach Saint, calling out the varsity players as they geared up for their matchup.
"Ain't no reason to stress out over Bloomington North, fellas!" Coach Saint's voice boomed. "They haven't gotten past us in six years. You hear me? Six. And it's not starting tonight! So loosen up and get ready to show 'em how Gary West gets it done."
Coach Saint didn't let any team get too much in his players' heads, especially not Bloomington North. BJ glanced over at Tyreek, who was still catching his breath beside him.
"Yo, Reek look at this," BJ nudged him, pointing to the game sheet. "We ran circles around them."
"Yeah, for real. You see those boards, though?" Tyreek chuckled.
Coach White called the team's attention to him. "Alright, boys, you earned this. Great game tonight. You ran our plays, you kept up the pressure, and you finished strong. Those are the things that win games."
He pointed to the game sheet, emphasizing a few stats. "Look at the assists everyone's sharing the ball. That's how you get a solid team performance. And the rebounds, the hustle stats that's what we need every single game. Don't let up on that intensity. Celebrate tonight, but come back ready to work tomorrow."